Curse of the Staff Wielders
by Sorceress Kirara
Summary: Yeah! Erk has finally been promoted to Sage! And can use staves! Just like Serra! Wait...Erk...being...just like...Serra! Poor Erk...Blessed Serra...Tired author. Part 3 up! Complete!
1. Part 1

_Yeah! Erk has finally been promoted to a sage and can use staves! Just like Serra! Wait…Erk…being…just…like…Serra…? Poor Erk…Blessed Serra. Tired author._

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem…(…blunt) and I actually don't own the plot of this fic. Starreaver thought it up and I was forced to write it (erm, persuaded.) So…blame him. Yatta! And by the way, when I said "Erk being just like Serra" I meant a male version of such…he won't be all …[trails off]…[points to her lab partner]

[…]

Matthew couldn't help but grin as he spread out today's winnings on the floor of his tent. "A little gold here…and little gold there…ah! And what's this?" His eyes landed on a small ring that almost seemed to blend it with its golden surroundings.

"My, my…a ring. I could get some handsome coins for this…" Absently, he placed it on his fourth finger and frowned a bit. "Too feminine for my taste actually…" However, his eyes suddenly found a small inscription along the base of the petite jewelry. "Guilding ring…guilding ring, eh?" Matthew removed and pocketed the ring as he made his way to a neighboring tent.

[…]

The thief pulled open the tent flap without a sound and took a second to scrutinize the scene. The very same mage who had retreated to his tent halfway through the nighttime meal to read was now pleasantly asleep, a tome open on his chest, and a bit of drool inching its way towards one of his purple strands. It was times like this he wish he had some way to capture the moment, what with blackmail being worth so much these days.

_"Matthew, please, you mustn't show that to Serra! She'll carry it everywhere! She'll show everyone! Please Great Matthew!"_

_"Hm, well…for a fee…"_

_"Here! 3000! 5000 gold!"_

He had to muffle his laughter with his hand clenching an edge of his cloak, giving him a slightly evil appearance. Of course, the mage remained asleep, informing Matthew that he had to do it the hard way.

"Rise and shine, Erk!" He picked up a stray book and dropped it upon the unsuspecting victim's head.

"I'm awake, Serra , I'm awake…" Erk moaned, having shot up from his sleeping position and cupping the side of his head in his hand.

"Serra?" Matthew questioned, an eyebrow rising. "Really, I think she would be offended if she were to hear you say that." He paused for a second. "Actually, I'm offended too."

Erk sighed, bowing his head to hide the pink in his cheeks. "Sorry about that, Matthew. Its just that it's usually Serra who drops books on me when I need to get up."

"Ah…" Matthew nodded. "Anyway, my apologies for irking you at this time."

Erk glared.

"Pun intended, of course," Matthew grinned.

Erk continued to glare.

"We'll call it payback for the assuming me to be the hyperactive cleric girl, then."

"Fine…so why did you come by?"

"Well," the thief began, pulling the ring out of his pocket and letting it dance between his fingers tauntingly, "I happened to be steal- er, working my way though a town, and I happened to come across this ring."

"I think one of the girls would appreciate that more than myself, Matthew."

"True, but I'm sure you would like it just as much, if not more if you look closer." With that, he held the ring so that the colored stone on the top was caught in the glow of lantern. Its facets reflected upon the two men's faces. Erk slowly arose to inspect the ring at a closer distance.

"Is…that a guilding ring?"

Matthew smiled, his eyes bright with greed. "The very same…one to promote monks into bishops…shamans to druids…mages to…"

"…Sages…"Erk finished, taking the ring and holding it between his thumb and forefinger, studying it.

"Ahem," Matthew cleared his throat, awakening the infatuated person before him. It took a second for Erk's glittering eyes to dart back up to his visitor's.

"Oh, uh, thank you, Matthew. I appreciate this." The mage nodded his thanks once more before returning to a small desk to study the ring more so.

Yet again Matthew cleared his throat, sticking out his hand this time and gesturing towards it with a nod of his head.

"You're kidding me," Erk sighed, upon realizing that the thief was still there.

"Those things aren't free you know."

"You stole it."

"Nonetheless, some gratitude would be nice."

"Cant I just promise that I'll heal you first out of every injured person, since Ill be able to use staves."

"Really, Erk, it irks me to think that you'd heal a measly ol' thief when I could easily steal some medicine to use."

"So how much, although you realize you wont be gaining much since were on the same side," Erk sighed, purposely ignoring Matthew's overused pun.

"Mm, you are right about that…Alright, a mere 100 gold will do. 200 if you never want me to say the I-word again."

Erk gratefully pushed 200 of his best-spent gold into the thief's hands. "Pleasure doing business with you!" Matthew grinned as he walked away, leaving the mage to study his ring.

[…]

Erk decided it would be best to leave the ring for the morning. No use in doing it this late, but for some reason he just couldn't get to sleep. His eyes kept drifting over to the glittering trinket topping a pile of books like some sort of cherry being the final addition to a mountain of ice cream…His hungry stares finally got the best of him and without a second hesitation he was drawn to the ring.

"It wont do any harm…" he muttered out loud, preparing to place the ring on one of his left fingers. "So…this…will make me more powerful I guess…I'm sure Lord Pent will be glad…and then I'll be allowed to use staves too… just like Serra." At this thought he suddenly froze, instantly picturing himself in a frilly lavender dress with his violet hair done up in two small ponytails. His imagined-self spun with the staff in his right hand as small sparkles escaped and random people around him applauded.

He shook so quickly that he almost dropped the ring. "W-What am I thinking? I'll probably wind up having nightmares now, because of her." He stole a quick glance at the ring before making his final decision. "This is for my own good, for the group's own good." He closed his eyes and with a deep breath placed the ring on the appropriate finger.

…He didn't really feel any different. He looked himself up and down. Nothing new. He frowned at the thought of the ring being a fake and paying 200 gold just to get Matthew to stop saying 'irk'. Perhaps his facial appearance changed for some reason. Just a little bit of proof to show that he wasn't ripped off. And it was already too late to borrow a stave from Serra to try it out.

He walked over to a polished wooden chest that he used to store most of his books during traveling periods. Apparently, the craftsman had a bit too much time on his hands and upon leaning over the chest did Erk see his reflection almost as clear as if it had been a mirror. However, much to his disappointment, there was no change either. He appeared to be the same ol' mage, just with a nifty new ring.

With a sigh he turned his face this way and that, praying for something, anything, that he could have missed. "Why do I have a horrible feeling I just got tricked…although…" he trailed off, keeping his face steady and cupping a cheek with one hand. "I never did realize how _cute_ I looked…" After a few more moments of admiring something in his brain snapped.

"…What did…I just say?" He shook his head quickly, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Following this with a deep breath he assured himself it was just his imagination. Of course it was.

"Its…just late," Erk finally concluded. "I must have over exhausted myself…I'm alright. Some sleep and I'll be all right in the morning."

With that, the now sage(or at least he prayed) crawled back beneath his blankets, hoping that in the morning, he'll actually seem something more like a sage…and less like Serra.

[…]

Things didn't seem to be getting better. Erk could sense this after he awoke with a relived smile, greeting the sunrise as it streamed through the few old holes in his tent. He shook his head back and forth, amazed at what just happened. He had actually awoken before Serra's 'wake up call' and was actually glad to be up early enough to see the sunrise. One could even go as far as to say he was feeling perky. He blinked several times, trying to understand why.

"Erky! Wake up!" Serra's wake up call seemed to be right on time. "You mustn't keep people like myself waiting!"

Now Erk was one to think before he spoke. He already had the words implanted in his mind and on the tip of his tongue. _"I'm already up, Serra. I'll be there in a second, just please quiet down a bit…"_ But for some reason when he opened his mouth another shout reached the cleric's ears. "I shall escort you soon, sweet Serra!"

His hand quickly covered his mouth as his eyes went wide. The silence outside confirmed that the reply was heard. He cleared his throat awkwardly, checking to see if it was actually his own voice.

"Erk…did you just call me…_sweet_?" He could actually hear the smile in her voice, with a small giggle at the end.

He cleared his throat yet again and put on a confused façade. "I think you're hearing things, Serra. Maybe you're actually beginning to deafen yourself." That sounded right. A 'hmph' was the only reply he could hear as the girl walked away, mumbling beneath her breathe.

"I just could have sworn he said…"

Erk sighed in relief. It must be too early, he assumed. He obviously went to bed with so much on his mind that he had woken himself up and didn't realize what he was saying. He ran a hand through his hair, wincing when something caught a singular strand. Bringing his hand to eye level, he noticed he still had the guilding ring on.

"Oh yeah, I'm a sage. Awesome," Erk grinned, his words not seeping in as of yet. The mood lasted as he stood up and stretched, looking himself up and down.

"It's a pity I didn't become cuter or anything…if that's possible…" he finished with a smirk. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt to change the appearance a tad…" He loosened his cloak and readjusted it so it appeared a bit off center, and let the hood fall to his back. Curling a strand of hair between his fingers, he contemplated what else could be done.

"Since I wont be wearing the hood I guess more attention will be brought to my hair…so…" A stray piece of fabric happened to catch his eye and his face lit up. "Perfect…"

[…]

"If Erk had truly been up, he would be out here by now. What is taking him so long?!" Serra growled beneath her breathe as she decided to check on what she thought was her escort/mage/Erky.

As she pulled open the tent flap, her stave raised over her head in preparation for an offensive attack, Serra nearly choked.

Before her, Erk beamed, putting the finishing touches on his dragontail at the base of his neck, leaving two stray strands to follow the curve of his cheeks. For as long as she had known him, or for as long as he had been her escort at least, she had never once seen him smile, let alone _beam _while in her presence.

"Sorry for the delay- had some matters I had to attend to," he winked as he strolled past Serra as if she was some lowly fan. If it were even possible, her jaw dropped even lower, and it took her a full second to snatch him by the edge of the cloak to keep him from exiting the tent.

"My gosh, Erk! You look so-" her voice died as she noticed that even his eyes seemed at least 10 times brighter. Maybe this was his evil twin…or…the good one.

"Charming? Adorable? Reasonably appearanced?" he guessed happily.

"Just so cute!!" she squeaked, clasping her hands at her mouth, like a child receiving a birthday gift a week early. "What on earth happened?"

"I am, _officially_, a sage."

Serra didn't even let the words sink in before commencing her mini-victory dance. "My escort's a sage! My escort's a sage! My es-" She stopped abruptly, giving her new toy a quizzical look. "Wait, so you're only cuter?" She gave small sigh. Although she was pleased with this advancement, she wouldn't have minded some more ways to kick anyone's butt who dare insult her.

"Of course not! My abilities have become so powerful that now I can kick the butt of anyone who dare insult you- faster than ever," he grinned as if reading her mind. "And, if anyone dare harm you," he paused, tapping his finger on her nose, "I can heal you too."

"You can use staves? Yay!" she grasped Erk in a firm hug, burring her face in his cloak. "You're just like me!"

For a second the words echoed in the sage's head. _'Just…like…Serra…staves…guilding ring…the ring!'_ He quickly glanced down at his limp arms, numbed by Serras' bone crushing hug that was still alive and kicking. With all his might he tried to find someway to remove the jewelry, but the cleric's oncoming words overpowered his true self once more.

"I'll get you one of my extra staves!" And like a bullet being shot through his skull, Erk had become his new self once more.

"You're so generous, Serra," Erk smiled, what with having what was left of his sanity screaming on deaf ears. "A reward…" he trailed off planting a small kiss on her cheek.

She stood frozen for a moment, unable to comprehend what had happened. "I don't know what happened, Erk…but I love you being a sage!"

"Your escort's stave please?"

"Gladly!" And with that Serra quickly rushed out side, taking a detour before picking up the necessity, leaving Erk to smile in the center of his tent.

At least until something in his head snapped back to consciousness. His eyes widened and he felt his mouth gap open in a combination of horror and fear that he had never felt before in his whole life. His legs gave way and the sage fell to the ground upon his knees. He brought his hands to his head and massaged the burning skin.

"No…No…I...didn't…I…did…not…Lord Pent…Saint Elimine…dear lord above all lords…I…did…not…"

Much to his horror, Serra's high pitch cry confirmed him of the truth. "Erk kissed me! Priscilla! Erk kissed me!"

"Heh, congratulations, Serra," came an uneasy reply.

"Erk kissed you? And after he rejected my advice on women?! Impossible!" Sain's doubtful words followed.

"He sure did! But I have to get my escort a stave now! Yay! Erk's a sage! Erk's a sage!" Serra's voice gradually grew softer and softer, leaving Erk's horrid flashbacks to taunt him. He fainted seconds before Serra reentered the room.

A/n: this entire story will have only three chapters…its like an incredibly long one shot, heh heh. Anyways, please comment, it always encourages. And yes, I am aware of the plothole: What about Priscilla? Well…[points to Starreaver]


	2. Part 2

A/N: Chapter 2! One more to go! I still don't own Fire Emblem, or the plot, which was thought up by Starreaver who thinks that if I draw any character under my own free will, it makes me a fangirl. Really, a random Matthew doodle during computers and he raises an eyebrow! Gah.

"Erk! Are you okay?" She poked him on the side with her extra staff as she knelt down by his fallen self. The sage groaned and turned over so his back was on the ground and his squinting eyes caught a glimpse of pale pink. "Erk…? Wake up!" Serra poked him with the stave once again, ignoring the fact that he was actually in the process of sitting up.

"Ugh, Serra…" He diverted his eyes from her partially concerned, partially angry stare, and found himself glancing at the ring instead. "The ring!" With a sudden burst of energy, he took a firm grasp of the cursed jewelry and tugged on it with all his might. Unfortunately, the thing was on there pretty darn tight.

"Erk, what _are _you doing?" Serra asked as she leaned over his left shoulder absently, making her question seem more of a warning for not paying her respect.

Her only reply was more of a grunt as the sage continued to struggle with the ring that was still lodged on the finger as if he had been born with it. "Must…remove…ring…!" he managed to choke out through sporadic breaths.

"Remove rin-"

Serra never finished her question. Apparently, Erk's final tug that was quite proving of his new strength sent his elbow backwards with an amount of thrust that should have removed the jewelry. Of course, his hand was a bit clammy after all the struggling so the ring hadn't moved even an inch, leaving all the force of his jerk to go into whatever he hit with his elbow. Ever so slowly, Erk turned around…

[…]

The first words that rang through the young sage's mind were ones that his mother would have been appalled of, if she had been able to read minds that is. "Serra! Serra!" He shook her limp shoulders as he continued to chant the cleric's name. Finally he noticed her eyes beginning to open and he leaned her back to the chest that had been the one to knock her out. (Erk had merely abetted just a _tad_, if one really thought about it.)

Serra sucked in a deep breath of air as her consciousness was regained. For a second she just blinked, the entire world seeming a vast blur, until she was finally able to make out the violet haired escort before her. "Erk…?" Upon saying his name, a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck and she clasped it tightly with one hand. A slight dampness on her skin startled her and she brought the hand to her eyes. A small line of blood was trailing off her fingers and slowly making its way down her arm. "A-Ah! What happened?!"

He kept his eyes on cleaning the blood off her arm and neck with the edge of his cloak, as he spoke somewhat-calmly, although still shaking a bit. "Uh, well, I was trying to remove my ring and my hand slipped and I hit you in the head so you slammed against that chest…"

"You…what?" Serra growled, retracting her hand from the man's grip.

"It was an accident, Serra, I swear-"

"Oh, when the head priests find out about _this…_"

"My apologies, please, just…"

Suddenly a thought occurred to the girl whose grin could scare away a bear. "Say, Erk…" He looked up, fearful of what would happen if he ignored her once more. "Didn't you say you could use staves now?" Obviously she knew what being a sage could do to him at this point.

"Well…" Erk trailed off, his eyes darting to the healing staff in the corner of the room. The last thing he wanted was to touch that thing and go "sage" again.

"Please, Erk, if you don't do anything then surely someone will notice…" Serra sniffled through false tears of pain.

With a heavy sigh, and heavier feet, the young sage unwilling picked up the healing tool and returned to a seated position beside the wounded soul. _'Please, don't make do anything I'll regret…'_ he prayed inside his head as he brushed away a few stray strands of pink hair to get a clear view of the wound.

He nearly choked, as it appeared to be nothing more than a paper cut. But for some reason his hand wouldn't let go of the staff, and his voice had stopped working completely.

"Well, aren't you going to heal it?" Serra asked, growing impatient.

As much as he tried to keep his mouth shut, the words wouldn't stop, "Why of course, angelic one." How Erk wished that his sage self could have said that with an ounce of sarcasm.

Reluctantly, he brought the tip of the stave to linger on the center of the wound, ignoring a small shiver from the patient. From the back of his mind, words he never thought he knew became the spell to activate the stave's powers and in no time at all had the wound healed with no hint of scar or blood. A pleasantly warm feeling that had traveled from his chest to his arm and hand had disappeared as quickly as it had begun.

"There, finished," Erk smiled, placing the staff down at his side as Serra clasped her neck to make sure he was right.

"Thanks!" she smiled back, turning to face her healer. "Shouldn't I receive a treat now, Erk?"

"A treat?" he repeated playfully.

"Mm," the girl nodded sweetly, "Whenever I was younger and was hurt, the elder priests would always heal me and then give me something afterwards, like a jewel or a trinket."

"Really now?" Erk grinned, raising an eyebrow, "I think I can find something for you…" he trailed off, gradually leaning closer to the cleric.

A sudden wail from outside froze him in his spot, "Save me! Bandits are gonna get me!! They're in the village! Kill them!! Kill!! Before they kill me!!!"

Kent's voice followed the scream. "I find it rather odd that our tactician is so skillful, yet so easily scared..."

"Yep," Sain agreed, "No wonder he always hides. It would be a lot easier if we all just got cell phones so his voice wouldn't get sore."

"What?"

"…Nothing. Let's get going."

"Ahem!" Serra cleared her throat loudly, gaining the attention of her escort who still seemed to be hovering over her. Erk turned to her with a partially dazed look, making it clear to her that the mage in him was almost back. "_Sage_, my treat?"

In an instant had the ring-powered charmer returned, the inner mage's cries growing weaker and weaker by the second. "Ah, yes…" And he leaned closer once more.

"Hey, the tactician says he wants a mage out there and …" The large man, axe in hand, standing in the entryway of the tent became silent as he rose an eyebrow at the scene.

With the sound of Dorcas's unnaturally low voice had Erk been able to snap out of his sage-state and withholding a yelp of fear from what had almost done, he stood up shakily.

"Ah, screw it," Serra cursed, standing up and walking out the tent exit, making an annoyed 'hmph' sound as she passed the man who had ruined her chance.

"…"

Erk followed in suit, pausing by the redhead. "I want to thank you, Dorcas. You saved me from a fate I could never imagine." The sage nodded and continued on his way, purposely leaving the stave in the tent.

"…"

[…]

Erk smirked as he stepped between two massive axe-wielding foes. "Really now, is that all? These fools couldn't even harm a rock, let alone a village."

"Erk, attack from _afar_!" the ever wimpish tactician whimpered from a disclosed area.

"Afar? To be afraid of a strike from this is insane!" Erk laughed, gesturing at one of the confused brigands.

"Grug, little purple hair thing insult me?" he asked, scratching his head with his axe.

"Indeed he did, Romulus, indeed. Horrid manners of children these days."

"I'll have you know, I am _not _a child!" the sage growled, snapping his fingers and causing a small ball of fire to dance upon his fingertips. With a low incantation, he set the small spark aflame and right into the balding bandit.

"Romulus! Save yourself!" Grug yelled seconds before he was incinerated.

"This for brother!" Romulus shouted, raising the axe above his head to bring down upon the 'purple hair thing'.

In a single movement did Erk duck the incoming attack, pivot around to face the foe, and followed it up with an impressive move that got him through the brigand's legs and behind him, unseen.

"Where…purple…?"

"Erk is behind you, Romulus," the sage grinned, snapping his fingers and lighting the bandit on fire before the poor soul could even turn around.

"And _I'm _behind _you_!" another voice laughed, taking a swing with his overly large sword. Everyone there had seen Erk duck the massive blade, and spin to face his enemy. But for some reason he looked angrier than usual (although in his current state, there wasn't really a usual in the first place).

"Hey, Erk, are you alright?" Lyn yelled over from above the corpses of the ex-bandits she had just slaughtered.

He remained silent as he knelt down before the grinning mercenary. Keeping a steady eye contact, he let his hand drift over the dirt before stopping on some nearly invisible object. He picked it up and held it before the bandit's eyes. "You bastard…"

It was certainly hard to tell what Erk was holding from that distance, but Lyn's eyes never failed her. It was a strand of violet hair. She raised her eyebrow slowly, realizing it was best not to interrupt.

"Yeah, I am. Damn proud too. Come a little closer I'll have me a fur coat."

Wordlessly, Erk raised his hands to the heavens, the sky darkening as his anger grew. A soft mutter was followed by a roar of thunder and a great flash of light. When the group was finally able to see again, the only part left of the brigand was his ashes. "Deserved it," Erk shrugged, clapping his hands to get rid of the extra soot from the attack.

As Lyn had been distracted at this time, she hadn't noticed that one of the bandits she thought she'd killed was actually still alive (although barely at that). With his final unnoticed breath, he took his axe and drove it into her foot. "Ah!!" Clutching her pained foot with one hand, she gave him a good stab through the skull, as well as a few of the others, just to make sure. "Hey, Serra?" The blood from her foot was starting to drip through her fingertips.

"Mm?" the cleric looked up from her conversation with the tactician to see Lyn limping over.

"Do you mind?" She gestured towards her foot.

"Oh!" Serra was about to lower her stave to her comrade's wounded foot when a thought occurred to her. "Wait, let's have Erk do it!"

"Erk?" Lyn, still hunched over and gripping her wounded limb, glanced up at what she thought to be still a mage, just in an unusual mood that day. He was currently tiptoeing backwards from the three piles of ashes, somewhat fearful of what he could do. Serra grinned; it was obvious his mage self had control of his brain, but she'd bring back that sage charmer soon enough.

"Yep, he's a sage now," she filled Lyn in, nodding proudly as if she had contributed.

Erk, now realizing he was the center of their conversation, nodded weakly. "But, it's okay. Serra, I think it would be best if you did it…"

"But Erk, you have to try out your new skills some more."

"You have more experience…"

"And you _need _more experience, Erky!" Serra giggled.

"Um, my foot…" Lyn interrupted, now gripping the wound with the other hand.

Serra pushed the stave into his shaking hands, and leaned in as she did so. "Get to it, _Sage_," she whispered in his ear.

Almost immediately did it trigger the effect's the cleric had hoped for.

"With pleasure, my cleric," Erk smiled sweetly, giving a small bow in the process.

"Serra…what did you do?" Lyn asked, staring wide-eyed at sage.

"Well, it took a while, but I can make him do that with a couple hints that he's a sage. Plus it happens spontaneously too," she replied matter-of-factly.

"…And how long does this last?"

"Depends. Keeps going 'til he's distracted or something," she shrugged.

"Are you sure this isn't…abuse?" Lyn questioned, not really paying attention as Erk raised her foot and ran the stave against her skin.

"Abuse? Lyn, who says having looks _and_ personality is abusive?"

Before Lyn could bring anything else up, Erk stood up and put his arm around Serra's waist. "I like being like this. Please don't fret over me, Lady Lyndis."

Although his smile fooled the giggling cleric, Lyn was certain she saw fear in his eyes. "Alright…" she trailed off. _'If he's still like that tomorrow, I'll talk to the tactician about it…' _Lyn thought as she gathered her weaponry.

"Everyone! Back to the camp before more bandits come after me again for stealing their gold!" the tactician shouted as he led the way.

"What?!" Kent shouted, fighting the urge to choke the one they depended on the most.

"Uh…I meant that Matthew stole."

"Me? I didn't waste time on those lowly bandits!" Matthew corrected, slightly appalled at the thought of stooping that low.

Kent glared at the tactician as he shook his head.

"Hey…well…you guys wanted better weapons right? Come! Feast and silver for all back at the camp!"

"Woot!" Sain cheered, earning a glare from Kent as well.

[…]

"One second," Serra called, breaking her stride with the few other female companions. Unfortunately, they didn't quite hear her (or they didn't quite listen, however one may interpret it), and continued on, although Serra didn't notice that herself.

With a content sigh, she leaned over the edge of a small river they were walking along, and admired the view in the steady water.

"It's a shame what these battles can do to me, but at least its better than doing nothing at all..." She dipped her hand into the cool water and brought it out to smooth the ends of her hair.

"Excuse me, Serra?"

Instead of turning to see who was behind her, she merely looked at the water's reflection, smiling as she saw a bit of violet hair.

"Yes, Erk?" She couldn't help but grin as she spun around, realizing he was still in his sage-mode.

"My Serra, I was wondering if I could request something of you."

The cleric frowned. As charming as he was, he still had that slightly anxious sound to his voice. She prayed the mage wasn't returning. "Of course..."

Erk took a slow breath and lowered himself onto one knee, unaware of the group behind him that had taken a particularly nice rest to view the pair's happenings.

With another breath, the sage took hold of one of Serra's hands and kissed it, clasping it tightly within his own. The other he brought to his heart, and lowered his head.

"Dear Serra, will you give me the honor of being your escort?"

The girl just stood there, speechless, as a small tint of pink fell over her face.

"Sister, is that the human way of asking for marriage?" Nils asked, tugging on a piece of Ninian's dress.

"I'm not sure..." she trailed off, continuing to watch with curiosity, as was everyone else.

Serra was still unnaturally silent, small tears welling up in her eyes and her jaw moving up and down, but emitting no sound. Finally...

"Oh, Erky, you don't know how long I've waited for you to ask that!"

"So that means..." he raised his lowered head a tad and gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Yes!" Serra's high-pitched squeal brought the audience's hands to their ears. She broke away from Erk's hand and with a remarkably high jump, prepared to leap into his arms, bridal style.

However, it was that high-pitched squeal that brought the sage to his normal mage mind. He quickly noted the situation, and doing the first reasonable thing he could think of, he scooted to one side.

"I…don't think so, actually," Ninian whispered to her brother, as Serra hit the ground.

[…]

A/n: thank you for reading, glad its alright. Mm, and sorry about the staff/stave thing, Lil' Rae! [points to Starreaver] he _says _he told me, but I tell you I don't remember. Hope it aint too bad… and this will be updated once again on Friday with the last chapter! Reviews and criticism always encourages…


	3. Part 3

A/n: the final chapter is here! Yatta! Bleh, I guess a few good reviews is better than a bucket of flames, right? Anyway, the final segment…

(…)

"Well?"

"…"

"Erk!"

The sage unwillingly looked up from his struggle with the ring to see a very angry Serra tapping her foot impatiently on the trail. Of course, he _had_ said he would escort her back to the camp, be it himself who said it, or Mr. Sage. But he still had to go through with the promise. And for reasons of logic, he spent the whole time trying to remove the blasted ring before the cleric could change him.

Even though she hadn't yet…which he found odd, but he still kept at it.

"What is it, Serra?" he asked, partially annoyed and still distracted.

"You haven't said you were sorry yet for not catching me," she replied angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. Erk could only thank Elimine that she hadn't _hurt _herself, thus leaving him to _heal _her. The only damage was the bit of dirt on her dress, and whichever genius decided to event a stave for every possible occasion, just happened to forget the OxyClean one.

"Why don't you just bring back that old Sage version of me- I'm sure he'll apologize," he growled, keeping his eyes focused on the task at hand, being that of removing the ring.

There was an awkward silence, and he looked up once more to see Serra standing there unusually hushed, her eyes downcast. "Uh, Serra?"

"Do you really think me that selfish?" she sniffled before clutching his shoulders and lowering her head to his chest, quickly dampening it with tears.

It would have been an understatement to say Erk was surprised and he stood there frozen for a least a minute while the cleric's cries softened. Fighting the urge to say "yes," in reply, he shook his head slowly and brought his unsure hands to her back. "Um, no…of…course not…"

"….really?" she sniffled, her face still hidden in the folds of his wet clothes, her grin unseen. How Serra _loved _playing the guilt card.

Unfortunately, what with the dreaded ring still on his finger, and now in clear view, he was a bit distracted…ironic, if one really thought about it. The silence confirmed Serra of this fact and she quickly dislodged herself from her escort's comfy chest to glare into Erk's distant eyes, which were obviously still on the hell that started it all.

"Erk!"

"One moment," he gritted through his teeth as he twisted the ring this way and that.  
"Pay attention to _me! _No ring is more important than me!" she cried, angry tears building in the corner of her eyes. She turned so that her back faced the sage, and then grabbed his arm and pulled it under her own.

"Serra, what are you-Gah!!"

And from there, she proceeded in pulling off the ring with her bare teeth, as Erk struggled to get her to release his arm. But one couldn't say that this wasn't efficient, since with a tug from the pair, the ring slipped off, near to being swallowed by the cleric.

"Peh!" She spat out the ring onto her palm and clenched it tightly, her knuckles turning white as she lowered her arms to her sides. "Now you pay attention to _me_!" she growled, her eyes closed in anger.

The silence that followed made her twitch, and she reluctantly opened her eyes, not sure of what the sage…wait, mage…was doing now if he was so quiet.

She arched an eyebrow as she stared at Erk. He had a dazed look on his face, his mouth partially open, and his eyes wide. "Erk…?" Serra waved a hand in front of his face, but it gained her no response. Finally…

"I…I could…kiss you…" the mage whispered, barely audible to the girl before him. Serra blushed slightly, what with it being the true Erk to say this, and not the sage. She closed her eyes and waited patiently.

And waited some more, now impatiently.

After a minute she opened one eye to see Erk still standing there, but the dazed look was gone. "Uh, Erky?"

"I said _could. _"

Serra sighed, bringing her hand to her face to cup her forehead when she suddenly realized something was still inside it. She opened her hand to see the ring (looking almost as new as when it was first made) situated in the center of her palm.

"G-Get rid of that," Erk whispered in a fearful voice.

"Why?" the cleric asked, lifting it up to the light. Her companion looked like he was going to drop dead right then and there.

"W-What do you mean?!"

"Well…" Serra began, running the ring over the tips of her fingers, "I'm sure you don't want it, and to be honest, it was much too annoying for you to keep switching back and forth…"

"…so why keep it?"

"I'm sure it would look quite nice on myself," she grinned evilly as she continued to toy with the trinket.

For the second time that night, Erk nearly died. To imagine Serra…worse than she was now…that was a fate crueler than death. And even more so, was Serra actually _being _that horrid. He could not let that happen! His eyes searched hers, still not believing. A line of sweat was forming on his brow.

"B-But-"

"Mm?"

"It clashes with your dress!" he shouted suddenly, rapid breathes following as he had been holding his breath all this time.

"Oh my gosh, it does!" Serra screamed, throwing the ring on the ground as if were some sort of rodent. "Erk, kill!" She pointed at the accursed metal from behind her escort.

"With pleasure," he sighed in relief as he brought his hands above his head and muttered a few words. In a few seconds the ring was unseen, covered with smoke and small flames.

Serra nodded her approval. "Good. Because if it clashes with my dress, then _no one _can wear it."

"Of course," the mage (and thankful for it) sighed again, rolling his eyes. "Let's just get back now." And the two continued down the trail to catch up with the others who had long since left.

(…)

"Good night, Serra," Erk nodded as he continued walking to his tent while the girl had stopped at her own. He felt more exhausted than usual and just wanted to sleep more than anything.

"You know, you never did apologize," Serra shrugged sadly as she lingered at the tent's entrance.

The mage stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment, realizing that she was right. "I am sorry for not catching you and dirtying your dress," he spoke in a robot tone, like a child who was made to repeat something by his mother's command. He started walking again, until Serra's voice halted him once more.

"If I wanted a heartless apology I should have just used the ring on you." There was a pause, indicating that Erk didn't believe her since he made no attempt to correct himself. "I could easily spend more of the tactician's money on a _matching _dress…"

Apparently, that did the trick and the fearful Erk had returned to Serra's side. "Alright, alright." He took a deep breath and pulled his head back so as to not make eye contact. "Serra, I'm sorry for not catching you and ruining your dress, do you forgive me?" He spoke this rather quickly, somewhat scared to think what would happen if someone witnessed him falling to Serra's commands once more.

"Of course, Erky!" she giggled. "Night then!" She waved and was about to enter her tent when she heard a throat being cleared. She turned around to see her escort still there. "Yes?"

"Shouldn't I receive an apology as well?"

"Whatever for?" she asked, keeping an innocent face.

Of course, Erk could have listed several hundred events, starting from when the first met to the present, but it would have taken quite a while. "Abusing my power?"

Serra shrugged, the sting of the guilt being little or nothing. "Sorry about that!" she smiled, tilting her head to one side to gain a more childlike appearance. She was about to enter her tent once again when she noticed that the mage was still there.

"T-That's all?" Erk questioned in an unbelieving tone as his left eye twitched. After he has to deal with the threat of _death _for a heartless apology, she goes and does that?!

"What, does wittle Erky want a kiss good night?" the cleric taunted, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, as if talking to child.

"N-No!" He hid his mild blush by supporting his shaking head with his hand. "I was just expecting something more heartfelt…but again, this is you…"

Serra grinned, "And I'm sure you wouldn't have me any other way." With another wave good night, she exited inside leaving Erk alone in the night.

"Nope…" was his last sigh before turning to leave.

(…)

"Where the heck is everyone? I'm finally able to treat everybody to a feast and there's barley anyone here?" the tactician sighed, slumping down in his chair.

"Well, you did just happen to rob the toughest, and not to mention largest group of bandits. Of course people are a bit tired," Kent pointed out.

"I said it was Matthew…and speaking of which…where _is _Matthew? I don't recall him helping much today."

Sain, who had been caressing a new silver lance against his cheek (carefully), looked up. "Oh yeah, he told me he had to browse around for leftovers."

"Leftovers?! Are we bandits ourselves?"

"A little extra stuff here and there couldn't hurt us…" the tactician grinned.

"Especially this delicious chicken," Sain drooled, grabbing another piece, as Lyn walked in yawning.

"Oh, go caress your lance," Kent grumbled.

"Don't mind if I do!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Lyn didn't even try the chicken.

(…)

"And this is why I don't rob lowly bandits," Matthew muttered, shaking his head. An empty bag was slung over his shoulder, part if him debating on trading it for something to look like he didn't leave empty handed.

Annoyed, he kicked up a bit of dirt on the trail with his left foot. Suddenly a sparkle amongst the dust, lingering in midair, caught his eye. He snatched the object in its drop and raised it up towards the light of the night sky.

"Well, what do we have here…a ring…a guiding ring!" Well this was certainly apparently a bit of déjà vu. He frowned a bit, noting that if this 'finding a guiding ring a day' was becoming a pattern, then they must not be very rare…what would be the point?

Staring at it for a bit longer, he finally drooped his shoulders in surrender. "Better than nothing."

He pocketed it and grinned to himself as an idea struck, "I'm sure I can get quite a large sum from a kind monk…Who could say no to being a bishop…" And Matthew took a bit of a detour before arriving at the feast, not bothering to ask why Lyn was running so fast.

end

a/n: Hope it was good! I'm giving up on the whole stave/staff thing. I dub them shiny magical sticks. Heh, thanks R Amythest! Yep, I dunno why this fic isn't getting much recognition…if it's the crummy summary, I'm open for suggestions. Thanks to those who reviewed though!

(glares at Starreaver) one _would _expect the dude who came up with the plot to review his best friends writing but no…For that, I'm drawing a scantily clad Serra and shoving it in his binder when hes not looking so when he opens it next class… See, if he had read this, he wouldn't suffer so (grins)


End file.
